Tim Murphy has eye on health issues

Stepping back into the psychologist shoes he once occupied seemed natural for Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Murphy as he discussed — with clinical precision — the Newtown shooting.

“They create problems in their lives; they have difficulty analyzing social interaction; they tend to blame others for their misfortune; they turn sadness and bad feelings into anger,” he said in an appearance Wednesday on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” crisply ticking through a list of traits that angry children tend to exhibit.

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A child psychologist from the Pittsburgh suburbs and a leading mental health advocate in Congress, Murphy is poised to take the reins of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee, replacing outgoing Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.).

His first ever chairmanship, the perch gives him watchdog jurisdiction over the committee’s wide swath of issues. That includes the health care law, which Republicans have vowed to watch like a hawk now that they’ve lost their chances to overturn it.

Murphy wouldn’t offer much detail about what he intends to do on the oversight committee next year — but he did say his agenda is likely to include parts of the Affordable Care Act.

But overall, Murphy sees the slot as a fortunate opportunity to combine the issues he cares about the most.

Over the decade he’s spent in Congress, the 60-year-old lawmaker has focused on energy independence and mental health care. He sits on the Natural Gas and Coal caucuses and serves as chairman of the Steel Caucus. He recently stepped down from co-chairing the GOP Doctors Caucus and is one of a handful of Republicans on the Mental Health Caucus.

The House has passed a number of his bills to strengthen access to mental health services — including one measure approved last week.

The Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act, or SMART Act, aims to get payment disputes settled more quickly between Medicare and third parties so seniors aren’t left paying more medical bills than they’re required to pay.

And several of Murphy’s proposals have made it into law. One requires military surgeons general to report to Congress on their mental health staffing needs. Another bans Medicare from charging higher co-pays to seniors for mental health care.